Shad basics

CW · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:27 pm Post subject:

The shad are crossing Bonneville Dam at 40,000 per day... should skyrocket in the next week to well over 150,000 per day. Going out Saturday taking a boat full of relatives down for my son's high school graduation Friday.

I'm thinking of rigging up a couple nine foot long flyrods with spinning reels for increased action. The big "June Hog" Chinook salmon season opens in ten days!!! Fish in the 40 lb. class range are not rare. I can't wait. Steelhead are picking up in the Kalama. That opens in the Columbia in five days on June 16. C.W.

CW · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:52 pm Post subject:

Though not from spring/summer 2008, here is a nice video clip of shad and large june hog chinook swimming past the viewing window at Bonneville Dam on June 21 a couple years ago. The numerous smaller silver fish are shad. The big chinook appear at 1:00 minute and 3:00 minutes into the video. C.W.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ZunTjYQzY&feature=related

CW · Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 10:12 pm Post subject:

Saturday we caught 7 or so and missed a few more. Today, Sunday, we caught 13 and hooked up on about 18. 2/3 of the ones we caught were on Dave Deem's custom copper shad spoons with red paint.... NICE! Fun times on a Father's Day. C.W.

Dene · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:45 am Post subject:

We out last evening and this evening to the same spot Chris goes to. Not a bite.

What's that saying?? 5% of the fisherman catch 95% of the fish?

-Greg

Wandering Sagebrush · Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:15 am Post subject: Washougal Shad

We were out for shad yesterday, and found it pretty slow. Just enough fish coming through to keep us interested. We put 25 in the cooler.

The big excitement, other than the big log that floated by as we were anchored up was catching a nice 8-10 pound spring chinook on the shad rig. The fish managed to tangle our lines, but came to the boat. One more week and it would have been a keeper.

CW · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:48 am Post subject:

We fished last night after school. We put 7 in the cooler and lost more than that (7 year old did most of the reeling). The Bonneville Dam fish count is looking good with two days of over 90,000 shad going up each day and salmon is up to 2,400 per day. Going for oversize sturgeon on Monday below the Dam with the heavy rod, new Avet reel and 3-5 lb. whole shad as bait. C.W.